Montessori Mom

Colors

...c, c, c the color sound, C makes a color sound!

Colors are one of the first things young children notice in their world. From the bright red of an apple to the blue sky above, colors help children describe, sort, and make sense of everything around them.

Learning Colors the Montessori Way

In the Montessori classroom, color is taught through the Color Tablets — a set of graded colors that children match, sort, and arrange. You can bring this same approach home with our free color printouts.

Here is the Color Nomenclature Cards printout (English).

Here is the Color Nomenclature Cards printout (Spanish).

An easy lesson for younger children

Print two copies of the color nomenclature cards. Keep one set intact as your template. Cut the second set into individual color cards. Show your child how to match each cut-out card to its partner on the template. Start with just 3 primary colors — red, blue, and yellow — and add more as your child progresses.

Advanced Sorting: The Grading Exercise

Once your child can match colors confidently, introduce grading. Use the Greyscale Nomenclature Cards printout. Show your child how to arrange the cards from lightest to darkest. This is the same principle as the Montessori Color Box 3, where children learn to see subtle differences in shade.

You can extend this by collecting paint swatches from a hardware store — children love sorting real paint chips from light to dark.

Color Wordlist

For children who are beginning to read, print the Color Wordlist. Have your child match each written color word to the corresponding color card. This connects the visual experience of color to the written word — a beautiful bridge between sensorial and language work.

Color Mixing Art

Materials

White paper or card stock
Primary color finger paints (red, blue, yellow)
A paintbrush or sponge
A paper plate for mixing

Method

Give your child the three primary colors. Show them how to mix two colors together on the paper plate — red and yellow make orange, blue and yellow make green, red and blue make purple. Let them paint freely and discover new colors on their own.

After the paint dries, have your child name the new colors they created. Can they match any to the color cards from the nomenclature printout?

Colors in Spanish

Use the Spanish Color Nomenclature Cards alongside the English set. Hold up a color card and say the name in English, then Spanish: "Red... rojo. Blue... azul." Children love learning that colors have different names in different languages.

Color Hunt

Give your child one color card and ask them to find that color somewhere in the room — or better yet, outside in the garden! A green leaf, a yellow flower, a brown stick. Bring the treasures back and lay them beside the matching color card. This connects the abstract idea of "color" to the real, touchable world.

Recommended Materials

These hands-on materials pair beautifully with this lesson and our free printouts:

• Montessori Color Tablets (Box 1) — The classic Montessori sensorial material. Three pairs of primary colors in wooden tablets with easy-grip frames. Perfect for the matching exercises described above.
• Montessori Color Tablets (Box 3) — 63 tablets in 9 colors with 7 graded shades each. Ideal for the advanced grading exercise — children arrange shades from lightest to darkest, just like our Greyscale Nomenclature Cards printout.
• Montessori Color Sorting Beads — Wooden color sorting toy with colorful beads. Great for toddlers who are just beginning to recognize and sort colors.

As an Amazon Associate, MontessoriMom.com earns from qualifying purchases. We only recommend materials we believe support your child's learning.